Daily US Times, Sydney: A five-day campaign to kill ten thousand camels started on Wednesday in Australia amid bushfire crisis.
Authorities took the decision as the drought makes the camels more desperate for water, causing chaos in local communities.
The camels will be shot from helicopters in the area of Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) – a sparsely-populated part of South Australia. Some feral horses will also be killed in the process.
Local community members said the camels are roaming around the streets for water and it posed a threat to the young children. Desperate camels create uncomfortable conditions as they are knocking down fences, getting around houses to get water through air-conditioners.
They damage houses and drink waters, which is needed by the people who live there.
APY’s general manager Richard King said in a statement that there is extreme pressure on them to do something about the problem.
‘Given ongoing dry conditions and the large camel congregations threatening all of the main APY communities and infrastructure, immediate camel control is needed,” he added.
The British settlers from India, Afghanistan and the Middle East brought Camels to Australia in the 19th century. The total numbers of the camel in the country vary, but it is believed that hundreds of thousands of camels live across the central parts of the country.
Devastating bushfires
Bushfire crisis has been running in several states in Australia since last September. Hot and dry conditions further intensified the fire. Australia has serious drought problems too.
The severe fire crisis took 25 lives so far, destroyed more than 2,000 houses and burnt down almost a million acres of land.
It is estimated half a billion animals killed by the fire. NASA published a satellite photo which shows the country’s Kangaroo island burnt by one-third. NASA described the situation as ‘ecological disaster. Australia’s southern coast island is famous for its pristine wilderness. The island hosts native wildlife, such as sea lions, koalas and diverse bird species.
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